Batch had surgery last week to replace a broken right clavicle that was to keep him out at the very minimum a month. Leftwich was signed to replace him and given a minimum one-year contract of $605,000, plus a $40,000 signing bonus. He'll count $445,000 against the salary cap if the Steelers keep him. If he remains on the team by the first game Sept. 7, they must pay his entire salary.

They must decide if they are better off with Leftwich, 28, backing up Ben Roethlisberger on what they believe is a Super Bowl contender, or have some patience that Batch, 33, their longtime veteran backup will be ready to play some time in September.

Dixon will make the roster and they could even use him in some roles the way they did last Thursday against Buffalo. On fourth-and-one, Dixon ran a bootleg around right end and was never touched on the way to a 47-yard touchdown run.

The guess is that they will put Batch on injured reserve and keep Leftwich. They also could trade Leftwich and get something in return, essentially for nothing.

"Byron was a No. 1 pick, the seventh overall in the draft," said Steelers quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson, who coached Leftwich for three seasons in Jacksonville. "He's started in the league, won games in the league. We're happy to have him here to kind of bail us out."

It was somewhat of a mystery that Leftwich, released by Atlanta in February, remained unsigned until the Steelers brought him to Latrobe Aug. 10. He practiced the next day and played Aug. 14 against Buffalo.

"I was impressed simply by the fact he's a quick study," coach Mike Tomlin said. "He was able to step out there, step in the huddle, spew the verbiage out, get people lined up actually and deliver the ball around. He's a very sharp guy, that's obvious."

Leftwich completed his first pass for 24 yards against the Bills but went five of 11 and nearly lost a fumble. Still, he had only two practices with his new teammates and was trying to learn their offense.

"It's not more complicated, it's just different," Leftwich said. "It all says the same thing -- Spanish, English Chinese, it's just different ways to say it. That's the process I'm going through now, just trying to get the terminology down, get everything down.

"It's not like playing wide receiver where you just run your route. At quarterback, you have to know what everybody is doing, you have to know protections, you have to know site adjustments. That's the process I'm going through right now."

Leftwich was signed by the Steelers instead of Daunte Culpepper since, among other things, he realized he would not have a chance to compete for No. 1.

"We all know who THE guy is. My job is to prepare myself every day in case I'm needed, and if I'm needed I have to go out there and we can't miss a beat and that's what I'm going to work myself toward."

CAMP CALENDAR: The shortest camp in modern-day Steelers history ended with the final practice Sunday, three weeks after the players reported to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. They will finish the preseason at the team's regular facility in the city of Pittsburgh.